NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion Football Monarchs returned to Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium Saturday for its second scrimmage of the spring. In drills featuring the No. 1 offense vs. the No. 2 defense and the No. 2 offense vs. the No. 1 defense, it was the defense walking away making the big impression.

"I was very impressed with our defense," said ODU head coach Bobby Wilder of Saturday's drills. "I thought they were deep and they were fast. When your No. 2 defense comes out and shuts down your No. 1 offense for the most part, that tells me how much progress we've made on that end of the ball. They came out and held their own."

The No. 2 defense didn't give the No. 1 offense much opportunity to run the ball, and in fact didn't allow the offense to score until the near end of the third set of drills.

"We are an entirely different football team right now on the defensive side of the ball," noted Wilder. "This isn't even close to last year."

MONARCH MOMENTS:

AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: The Monarchs have three practices left this season, culminating in the annual spring game on Saturday, April 24th at 1:00 p.m. at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium.

TWO-DEEP COMING TOGETHER: Fans who came to the scrimmage on Saturday and will be coming to the Spring Game next week might notice Monarchs in different slots. "We looking at some guys in different roles," said Wilder. "The philosophy I've always had with personnel is you've got to get your best players on the field. The only way to find out is right now in spring ball to try some different combinations." Stay tuned to odusports.com for the depth chart for next Saturday's spring game.

HELP SAVE A LIFE: The Football Monarchs will again sponsor a Marrow Donor Registry Drive on April 22nd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Hampton/Newport News room in Webb Center. The Monarchs have once again partnered with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to add ODU students, faculty and staff and the Norfolk community to the bone marrow registry, where they can potentially capitalize on the opportunity of a lifetime - the opportunity to save a life. On any given day, more than 6,000 men, women and children are searching the NMDP Registry for a life-saving donor. The test is a simple cheek swab, no blood or needles are involved. There is no cost to be tested and the procedure takes no more than 20 minutes.
For additional information on the ODU Football Bone Marrow Drive or the NMDP, contact Jackie Barrow at jbarrow@odu.edu or 757-683-3359.